A Long-Distance Romance?

A frequent observation on this page is that inadequate availability of cinemas/screens in our country is among the key factors inhibiting the Indian film market from achieving its inherent potential.

That is true not only in absolute terms given the massive size of our population, but also compounded by the very uneven distribution of exhibition platforms i.e. over-supply in a few areas where many properties are clustered together, while large regions have few, if any, outlets to indulge their desire to watch a film.

In the past, we have explored screen density in India from the perspective of per capita availability, as also comparisons with other major markets like North America, China and the European Union. This week, we are looking at another very important variable that is pertinent to this discussion – distance.

On average, how far does one have to travel to watch a film in different regions of our vast country, the seventh-largest in the world? And considering that a day at the movies has increasingly become a social outing combined with a meal out or shopping, we are taking the study a step further to map average distances between multiplex properties, which is typically where these social excursions take place.

Take a look at the table below:

State

Area (Square KM)

Number Of Theatres

Average Area Served Per Theatre (Square KM)

Average Distance Between Theatres
(Kilometers)

Number of Multiplexes

Average Area Served Per Multiplex
(Square KM)

Average Distance Between Multiplexes (Kilometers)

Rajasthan

342,239

125

2737

52

32

10694

103

Madhya Pradesh

308,245

200

1541

39

37

8330

91

Maharashtra

307,713

780

394

20

137

2246

47

Andhra Pradesh*

277,808

2780

100

10

39

7123

84

Uttar Pradesh

240,928

800

301

17

88

2737

52

Jammu and Kashmir

222,236

22

10101

100

3

74078

272

Gujarat

196,024

345

568

23

66

2970

54

Karnataka

191,791

900

213

15

42

4566

68

Odisha

155,707

143

1088

33

3

51902

228

Chhattisgarh

135,191

46

2938

54

9

15021

123

Tamil Nadu

130,058

1500

86

9

24

5419

74

Bihar

94,163

260

362

19

3

31387

177

West Bengal

88,752

400

221

15

26

3413

59

Arunachal Pradesh

83,743

1

83743

289

0

Jharkhand

79,714

62

1285

36

9

8857

94

Assam

78,438

80

980

31

5

15687

125

Himachal Pradesh

55,673

10

5567

75

1

55673

235

Uttarakhand

53,483

46

1162

34

7

7640

87

Punjab^

50,362

105

479

22

35

1438

38

Haryana^

44,212

86

514

23

49

902

30

Kerala

38,863

700

55

7

11

3533

59

Meghalaya

22,429

7

3204

57

0

Manipur

22,327

10

2232

47

0

Mizoram

21,081

10

2108

46

0

Nagaland

16,579

4

4144

64

0

Tripura

10,486

1

10486

102

1

10486

102

Sikkim

7,096

2

3548

60

0

Goa

3,702

12

308

17

2

1851

43

Delhi

148

80

18

4

42

35

6

All-India

3,287,240

9544

344

19

644

5104

71

*Undivided Andhra Pradesh (including modern-day Telangana state)

^Properties in Chandigarh, shared capital of Punjab and Haryana, considered in counts of both states, but only once in national tally

All figures rounded off to the nearest kilometer/square kilometer

The way to read this table is: India’s largest state, Rajasthan, has 125 theatres spread over an area of around 340,000 square kilometers. That translates into each theatre, on average, serving a catchment area of over 2,700 square kilometers. Were all of these properties evenly spread, you would have to travel 52 kilometers after exiting one theatre before you came across another – a figure arrived at by calculating the square root of the area numbers. In terms of multiplexes, the state’s 32 multiplexes serve an area of almost 10,700 square kilometers each, for an average distance of 103 kilometers between such properties.

In other words, if you are in Rajasthan and want to watch a film (God bless you for that!) but adamant that you do so only in a multiplex, you better hope that tickets at your closest chain haven’t been sold out because it would be a 100–kilometer trek to the next property! As is evident from the data above, Rajasthan is by no means the least screen-dense region. In states like Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Odisha, the average distance between multiplexes is in excess of 225 kilometers. To put that in perspective, it is a shorter journey for a Mumbaikar to go for a darshan to Shirdi than someone in those above states to pay obeisance to their screen idols!

That’s not even the worst for it. Entire states, not surprisingly in the oft-neglected North-East region of our country, are without a single multiplex, including Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland.

It is obvious that at a time when our audience has multiple options to keep them entertained – at home and literally in the palm of their hands – convenient proximity to a cinema hall is the most basic encouragement we can offer those willing to buy a film ticket, after all, distance – like absence, may make the heart grow fonder… but too much distance, and the heart begins to wander!